As businesses look to the year ahead, budgets are being finalised and strategy is being discussed. Inevitably, cost savings are on everyone’s mind, and money will be directed at keeping the lights on first. Beyond this, the business will look at operational efficiency, and look at ways of cutting costs and waste.

The biggest productivity drain could be hiding away in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. Perhaps you’ve noticed it. Perhaps you daren’t mention it because you know it will be expensive. But your data quality could be the elephant in the room.

Why spend on data?

Data is the new oil. It flows through critical systems; it keeps cogs of your business moving freely from day to day.

Data is as valuable and precious to your business as the black gold that powers vehicles and industry.

Yet 22% of businesses surveyed by Econsultancy said they suspected a problem with contact information in their database. It’s as though the asset is not acknowledged, or considered worthy of investment.

Sure – there’s a cost involved in tackling data quality. But there’s a bigger cost involved in neglecting your CRM and its contents.

This article in Economia says it well: “Bad data in: errors ‘to the power of ten’ out.”

SOURCE: information-age.com